Footballer Fits: How footballers are redefining style in the beautiful game

Building their own narratives, experimenting with fashion choices and gaining the confidence to test boundaries - modern day footballers have created their own definition of style, regardless of what people think.

Whether it's styling luxury brands at London Fashion Week, showing up to training camps in risque outfits or creating their own line of apparel, footballers are taking ownership of the fashion world and influencing fans all over the world.

But what has caused this growth? Why are fans interested in football fashion? 90min caught up with Footballer Fits founder Jordan Clarke to find out why footballers are redefining their own style.

Footballer Fits was founded from humble beginnings, with Jordan explaining: "I founded Footballer Fits while I was working at Argos, I would post on social while in the stock room. It was just me at the start, but I wanted to build a platform that backed players and pushed the culture.

"I wanted to be the platform that ballers loved because we had their back. I wanted to do something different, I'd love to say that I knew it was going to grow this much when I created it, but I didn't, it's been a whirlwind."

Five years later, Footballer Fits has garnered millions of followers on social media and connected with players around the world, allowing footballers to embrace fashion without fear of judgement.

As an active consumer of football fashion, Jordan knows just how much influence players can have in the style game.

"The expression of footballers has reduced in the game," he continued. "Football is very tactical now. Growing up we would watch the likes of Neymar and Ronaldinho dribbling past players. Now football is more robotic, but people still want to see that expressiveness from players, to see their personality.

"We're also seeing footballers take their own narratives into their own hands now, players like Jude Bellingham and Cristiano Ronaldo building their own Youtube channels.

"I think young people are demanding that athletes show their personality and that side of them, in order to connect with fans. Football has changed and that contributes to the off-field behaviours. We're seeing now that players are inspired by US athletes."

With expression, comes negativity. The rise of social media has given every fan a voice, whether that be for good or for bad. While players like David Beckham and Hector Bellerin were among the first to play with their style choices, even they received backlash for their behaviour.

These standards are slowly changing, however, and platforms like Footballer Fits allow players to express themselves without facing constant criticism.

"The previous generations of footballers were continually told to ‘stick to football’, limiting their freedom to express themselves away from the game," Jordan adds. "The new generation are encouraged to be different, have other interests and use those interests to show fans who they are when they don't have a ball at their feet.

"From fashion and music to tattoos and hairstyles, there's so many ways for players to openly express themselves these days and the criticism is now massively outweighed by the support and encouragement that Gen-Z fans give to athletes.

"The rise of social media has created a demand for athlete-driven content and those not riding that wave and using it as an opportunity to connect with their fans, tell their story and build their personal brand are missing out. It's never been more socially acceptable for players to be open about their interests and hobbies away from football and the shift from previous limitations placed on athletes has been a huge success."

Declan Rice's London Fashion Week debut at the Emirates, Jules Kounde sitting front row at Paris Fashion Week and Cole Palmer starring in Burberry's latest outerwear campaign - players are representing brands now more than ever before.

While singers and actors were often the first-choice celebrities for these opportunities, footballers are now being selected for their influence.

"The influence of athletes has never been higher, but especially in footballers," Jordan says. "Young players like Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal are gaining millions of likes per post, more than the total followers of globally known actors and artists and have better engagement rates than the likes of Drake and Kim Kardashian.

"Gen-Z and the upcoming generation have made it clear that footballers are the people they connect with most, which is why fashion brands have began tapping into the game more than ever."

Football fashion is undoubtedly a growing industry, with unlimited opportunities on offer to ballers in the game, if they are willing to break boundaries and experiment with their style.

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